Netflix investors keen to know if streaming giant has hit target

After a stellar 2020, Netflix will reveal next week if the enthusiasm for box set binges has lasted beyond the worst of the pandemic. Investors will be keen to know if the streaming giant has hit its target of adding another 6m subscribers during the first quarter of the year. 

And they will want to know if its revenue has risen by the 24 per cent forecast to £5.1billion when it releases an update on Tuesday.

Netflix signed up 8.5m customers in the last three months of 2020 – bringing the total to 203.6m. But the surge in subscriptions last year was undoubtedly driven by the pandemic, as many around the world cooped up at home turned to their screens to get them through lockdowns. 

This drove a two-thirds rise in its share price last year – boosting US stock markets and adding to the coffers of UK shareholders who are invested in funds such as Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Allianz Technology Trust. But there are worries that vaccine rollouts and the explosion in big-name, rival streaming services will hit Netflix hard. 

Smashing through the 200m customer level last year gave the company enough money to pay for its-day-to-day operations for the first time without needing to raise outside cash or debt. 

This was a milestone for a firm that has spent years pumping billions into its original shows and still intends to do so. Analysts will be keeping a close eye on any disclosures about how much it is planning to spend this year and its pipeline of projects.